The efficacy of artesunate, chloroquine, doxycycline, primaquine and a combination of artesunate and primaquine against avian malaria in broilers.

Abstract

The efficacy of 5 antimalarial drugs was evaluated on P. gallinaceum infected broilers. One hundred and forty-seven 19-day-old broilers were divided into 7 groups of 21 chicks each. Group 1 was the unmedicated, uninfected control. Groups 2-6 were infected and medicated with artesunate, chloroquine, doxycycline, primaquine and an artesunate-primaquine combination, respectively. Group 7 was the unmedicated, infected control. Infectivity, mortality, parasitemia, schizonts in tissues and body weight gain were monitored. The results revealed that the two most effective drugs for treating P. gallinaceum at the asexual erythrocyte stage were chloroquine and doxycycline. Tissue schizonts of P. gallinaceum in all the medicated groups were significantly fewer than the unmedicated, infected control (P<0.05). The mortality rate of all the medicated groups was significantly lower than the unmedicated, infected control (P<0.05).